Fishing-reel.



PATENTED DBG. 4, 1906.

E. V. MYERS. FISHING REEL. APPLIGATION FILED sEPT.1a.19o.

R O T1 N E V N WITNESSES -it can do in holding line.

` tion,

' brake miay be appliedveither reverse'movement of the hand e or by aforl UNITED STATES PATENT I oEEioE.

FISHING-REEL'.-

i Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 4, 1906.

Application filed September 18, 1906- Serial No. 385,100.

T0 all whom it mwyrconcern: a

Be it known that. I, EUGENE V. MYERS, a citizen `of the United States,residing at East Orange, in the county of Essex, State of New Jersey,have invented certain new and useful yImprovements in Fishing-Reels, ofwhich the following is a specification.

, This invention relates to fishing-reels, and aims to providecertainimprovcments therein.

Various devices have heretofore been proposed for producing a brakingeifect upon the line. i These :have usually taken the form of a separatebraking device arranged to bear against the spool or some part inconnection therewith. Such devices have been actuated by a se aratelever, adapted to be o erated by the eft hand of the user, the rig thand being unavailable for this purpose, since it must be ke t upon thehandle of the reel in playing the h. Such devices are cumbersome andhave the-additional disadvantage that the left hand of the user has allthe work the rod. A further disadvantage is thatthe handle must be yreleased temporarily by the right vhand and then re ained when it isdesired to reel in the ther devices have been roposed, but these haveeither been invariab ein their acsuch as the usual click and drag, orelse have recuired so'much time to adjust as to be incapab e ofvariation' while playing the ish. By my-inventionl provide a devicewhich is opera e by the right hand of the operator and is capable ofcomlplete control, so that the tension upon the ine may be instanteneously varied during the playing of the fish. To this end-my'inventionconsists of means connected with the vhandle or capable of beingoperated by the rightvhand without releasing the latter for producing abraking effect uponthe line.. Y

In its preferred form my inventioncomf prises a brake whichisconnectedwith the andle of the reel so as to be operated inan of theangular positions of the latter. j Pre erably the handle is connectedwith the spool, so that it may be released from the latte'r by a reverserotation of the handle. The b a continued Ward movement from theposition in which the spool is disconnected from the handle.

In the drawings, wherein I have shown several embodimehts of myinvention, Fi ure 1 is an axial section of the reel provide with oneform of my invention. Fig. 2 is a view of the reel-cap removed. Fig. 3is anenlarged section showing the braking mechanism in detail. Fig. 4 isa modified form of the braking mechanism.y Fig. 5 is a view similar toFig. 3, illustrating a modificationof my device. Fig. is a detail viewof a modified form of disconnecting means.

Referring to Fi s. 1 and 2, let A indicate the spool of a reel, theshaft B of which is provided with a pinion C, which is adapted to beturned by a gear D. E is the handle, which is connected with the gear Din the manner best shown in Fig. 3. The handle has connected to it ashaft F, which at its inner end isl mounted toturn `u on the stud G,iixed to the reel-frame. 'lPhe `shaft is vided with a left-hand thread,u on w 'ch is screwed a ratchet-wheel H. he earD is adapted to turnloosely upon the s aft F when the arts are in the position shown inFig. 1. li/Vhen the hand e is turned forwardly, however, the ratchetremains substantially stationary, or at least turns less rapidly thanthe shaft F, and the shaft moves outwardly, thus clamping the gear D-between the ratchet and a shoulder I,f,ormed, on the inner end of theshaft. On either side of the gear D is preferably mounted a frictiondevice of some kind, such as a leather washer J, as. shown in Fig. 3, ora spring J', as shown in Fig. 4, or some other device which will providefora gradual clamping of the gear. By this means as the handle is movedforwardly the frictiondevices are gradually ap lied to the-gear, withthe effect that `a varia le braking force is produced upon the latter,.thus gradually 4altering the tension upon the line. It is to be under-Ystood that by properly proportioning the Jfriction devices and otherarts of the mechanism any 'desired graduation of the braking force maybe obtained. Preferably the parts will be s'o rovided that aconsiderable sweep of the andle is necessary to applythe entire brakinforce, so that no minute movement Wilbe required to adjust. such force.It will be understood, however, thatit is a part of my inventiontoutilize this mechanism -or any other which cornes within the purviewof my invention as a means for merely` connecting and disconnecting thehandle to.andfrom the reel. In this case the braking feature maybeomitted'and the parts proportioned so as to releasethe spool ICO IIO

and rengage it b an .extremely small movement of the han le or otherpart adapted to perform the functions thus described. e,

- In the construction described, as the handle is moved forwardly thegear becomes more Vfirmly clamped until thefriction is sufficient toovercome' the tension -on the -line, when thev latter may bereeled y in.In this construction the part'stend to release themselves when there isa pull or -jerk upon the llne, so

that there is no danger of the parts uninten,

releasing the parts. The construction just .described constitutes apositive means for disengaging the handle from the spool asdistinguished from constructions wherein the mere friction ofthe plartsis relied upon to effect a separation t ereof. The pawl constitutes asubstantially. rigid member vvents A.rearward movement thereof.

against which the ratchet acts in separating the parts; Hence theseparation is prompt and positive in anyof the angular positions of thehandle. The reverse rotation instead of being carried to the extent' offully releasing the parts may be carried only -so far as to partiallyrelease them to the desired extent, thus permittingthe gear 'to rotateunder the stress of the. line,l but 'applying the required degree of`braking force. For the pawl may be substituted any other deviceas, forinstance, that shown at T, Fig. 6. Such device comprises a Wedgingmember bearing against a disk H2,which corresponds to the ratchet H.This construction .permits forward movement of the disk, but pre- Inthis construction the slight click of the ratchet and awl is avoided.Many 'other ways can bea opted for producing this result.

To provide means for holding the handle in its adjusted positions, /Imay provide a A collar- O, which is screw-threaded into the the geary Imay collar P of the reel with a right-hand thread, which may be adjustedso as to engage the handle at any deslred oint.

Instead of causing t e braking mechanism to o erate by a forwardrotation of the handle om'thc position of `disengagement with y applythe braking force by a still further backward rotation 'of the handle,this construction being shown in Fig. 5. In ratchet H is adapted to bepressed against the 'side of the gear D by the forward rotation of thehandle without the intervention of any friction device,

`so that the engagement is sharp. v On reverse rotatlon of the handlethe pawl engages the ratchet as. before and separates the parts,

after which the ear is forced toward the spool by a lshoul er L, fast onthe shaft F',

until i-t engages a friction device J2, fast on the reel-frame.` Byproper 'movements of th'e handle any desired degree of braking force.may be thus ap lied. A shoulder M, also fast on'the shaft F', ward theratchet on the forward movement of the handle. 1

It will be understood that I haveshown the two constructionshereindescribed merely as examples for illustrating my invention .and that Ido not Wish to be limited-thereto, since many devices Amay beconstructed which embody the gist of my invention, which is to providemeans Whereb a braking effect may be placed u on the line bythe hand ofthe user whic operates the reelhandle. .A subsidiary but importantfeature yof my invention is to provide a reel 'wherein the handle may bepositively disconnected from the s ool by a reverse relative movement oftliie handle and connected therewith by a forward movement thereof.

What I claim is- 1. .In a iishing-reel, the combination of a spool, ahandle for rotating it, said handle being fixed against lateralmovement, and

means connected with the handle for applying a variable brakin effectupon the line.

2. In a fishing-ree the combination of a spool-a laterally-un 'eldinghandle for rotating/it, and .a bra e operated by movements of saidhandle.

. 8. In a fshinghreel, the combination of a spool, a handle for rotatingit, and a brake plpeltlted by .a rotative movement of said an e.

4. In a :fishing-reel., the combinationof a' spool, a handle forrotating it, and a brake operated by a forward movement of the handle.

draws the gear to- 5. In a fishing-reel, the combination of a spool, -alaterally-unyielding handle for rotating it, means for` disconnectinsuch handle from such spool, and means for Iiraking such spool operatedby said handle.

6.' In a fishing-reel,- the combination of a spool, a` handle forrotating it, such handle bein adapted to be disconnected from such spoo,whereby to ermit the latter to run free, and means for raking the spooladapted to beoperated by such handle; l

7. In a fishing-reel, the combination of a spool, a handle for rotatingit, such handle `bein adapted to be disconnected from such spoo wherebyt permit the latter to run free, and means for braking the spool adaptedIIO a rotative movement of -ber adapted tol produce a variable brakingeffect upon the line, such member being actuated by said handle.

10. In a fishing-reel, the combinationof a spool, a handle, ascrew-threaded shaft turned by said handle, and a braking1 mechanism forsaid spool operated by said s aft.

11. yIn a fishing-reel, the combination of a spool, a handle, a gearlconnected with said spool, and means operated by said handle forproducing a graduated braking effect upon said gear.

12. In a iishing-reel, the combination of a spool, a handle, ascrew-threaded shaft turned by said handle, a gear connected with saidspool, and means operated by said shaftl for producing a graduatedbraking effect upon said gear. Y

13. In a fishing-reel, the combination of a spool, a handle, -and abrakin device for said spool o erated by said hande, said braking devicebeing adapted to be operated to release the spool .when the latter isunwound.

14. In a'fishing-reel, the combination of a.

rotatable ply such brake in spool, a brake therefor, and a' handleadapted to gradually a brake, and means for holding suc its adjustedpositions.

15. a fishing-reel, the combination of a spool or the like, a braketherefor, and a rotatable handle adapted to adually apply4 such brakeand means for ho ding the handle in its adjusted positions.

16.` In a fishing-reel, the combination of'taJ spool, a brake therefor,and a rotatable handle adapted toy gradually Vap 1y such brake, andmeans for holding the handle in its adjusted positions, Said means beingadapted to permit the free forward movement of such handle. 4

17 In a fishing-reel, the combination of a spool, a brake therefor, anda rotatable handle adapted to Y gradually ap ly such brake and means forholding the llfandle in its adjusted positions, said means com risin@r acollar ada ted to engage such 4hand e, and adapted to be moved towardand from the same.

In witness whereof I have hereunto si ed my name in the presence of twosubscri ing witnesses.

EUGENE V. MYERS.

Witnesses: i v

FRED 'WHrrE, REN BRUINE.

